Earthquake
by Tawny-Fern
Summary: Beck and Jade go visit Beck's family in Canada; what will happen to them when an earthquake hits? Well, I know, but you don't, so read! Rated T 'cause I don't know where exactly it'll go.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I wish. But yeah no.**

Beck Oliver awoke to warm air streaming thorough the window by his bed. He sat up, groggy, and swung his feet over the side of the bed, stood up- and promptly ran into the bedside table.

'_What..?'_ he thought, still disoriented, until he remembered where he was. He and his family (aka Mom and Dad) had gone up to Canada to visit his Dad's parents, his grandparents, as well as his aunt, uncle, and cousins. Jade had come along, because Beck's grandma wanted to meet the "lovely young lady that has so sweetly captured our Beck's affections". Yes, she really put it like that.

They had arrived yesterday, and Jade had met the family, including his Aunt Rachel, Uncle Ken, and their kids, Jackie, age eight, Alyssa, age seven, and Teddy, age five. His grandmother, Rose, had been standing at the door waiting to greet the family, but his grandpa, Jack, had been watching hockey in the den, uninterested. He only came out when Beck's grandma forced him to come say hi and meet Jade.

Beck was pretty sure his family was still recovering from meeting Jade. She'd been very.. Jade-like, despite his advising against her being her usual sarcastic self. His grandma had tried to still be nice to Jade afterwards, but everyone else pretty much avoided her, including his own parents. His grandfather had made no secret of his dislike for his girlfriend, and she had done the same for him. Typical Jade.

They had had dinner all together last night, then all gone off to do their own thing. The adults had gone to the living room to talk, and Jackie, Lyss, and Teddy had wandered off to play. Apparently the girls were going to make Teddy be their dress-up doll, but Beck really hadn't cared at the time. He was too preoccupied with Jade, who was sitting next to him as they watched a movie in the den. Well, they didn't really watch the movie, more like made out the whole time. But anyway.

The good thing about coming to his grandparent's house for a family get-together was the space. The house itself was huge, only one story, but spread out. It was a log cabin, built in the 1940's, but it had been renovated a few years back. Now, the house had several more rooms as well as new appliances and plumbing. There were six bedrooms, one for each grown-up pair, one for Lyss and Jackie, one for Beck and Teddy, and one for Jade, who had refused to share with the girls. Unfortunately Beck's parents refused to allow him to share a bed with her at his grandparent's house.

Everyone had gone to bed in their own time (well, not the kids, who had been put to bed by their parents), and now it was 8:30 in the morning, and his aunt was calling from the kitchen. Teddy's bed was unoccupied, and Beck realized that everyone else was probably already up.

"Beck! Get up! I made the pancakes that you love," Aunt Rachel yelled through the door.

"Just a minute!" he called back, getting up and beginning to get dressed and decent. Halfway through working out his bedhead, another, less gentle knock sounded on the door. "I'm not ready yet, Aunt Rache-"

He broke off as he heard the door fly open, almost hitting the wall. He didn't bother turning around from the mirror; he already knew who it was. Sure enough, Jade came up beside him, glaring.

"Hurry up. Your aunt's pancakes smell good, and I'm hungry. I've been told I had to wait until "everyone" was out in the kitchen, and everyone obviously only means you, since you're the only one not out there." She said haughtily.

"Knowing you, I'm surprised you didn't ignore that rule and take one anyway," he answered, smiling as her glare grew more pronounced.

"I'm not completely horrible. You should know. Anyway, I was trying to be nice and make them maybe like me a little bit more, so I tried to wait, but I got impatient and came to force you out of here."

"Aww, Jade's trying to be _nice_. How sweet. Can I ask why you have stooped so low?"

She hit him, albeit lightly. "'Cause, idiot, they're your family. I don't want to hate them, or have them hate me, 'cause then they'd want us to break up and tell you what a horrible person I am."

"True. But still, you're being _nice._ That's just… wow."

"Have I ever told you that I hate you?" she asked, smiling a little bit.

"All the time, actually." He said, smiling as well, and he leaned down to kiss her. Abandoning the mess that was his hair, he pulled her into his arms, up against him, and she gripped his arms as they deepened the kiss. It was gentle, not too steamy, and perfectly wonderful for the two of them.

"Hey, Beck, you really need to hurry up. Jade came to find you, and- oh." Evidently Jade had left the door open when she came in, as now Jackie was standing in the doorway, her mouth hanging open.

"Ohh… morning, Jackie." Beck greeted weakly, still out of breath from the kiss. Jade stayed silent, too happy at the moment to glare at his cousin for interrupting them. "Tell Aunt Rachel we'll be out in a minute. And I mean it this time."

"You know, she's probably going to go tell everyone how she walked in on us making out."

"I really hope not."

"Yeah, that would be awkward."

"Completely."

"You know, your hair is still kind of a mess."

"It's a lost cause. Let's go; I'm hungry and I want pancakes."

"That's what I've been trying to do for the last ten minutes!"

"Yeah, well." Jade glared at him again, not that that was unusual and together they walked from the bedroom, down the hall, and into the kitchen where the rest of the family was waiting. By looks on their faces (with the exception of Grandpa Jack's, who was, again, uninterested), Jackie had indeed told everyone that she had found Beck and Jade kissing in his room.

"Sooo… pancakes." Beck tried. His mom blinked and shook her head, as if coming out of a trance.

"Right." She said. "Rache, let's go hand 'em out to the crew." Rachel followed her to the oven, and they pulled the pancakes from where they had been keeping warm. Beck, Jade, Jackie, Lyss, and Teddy lined up (much to Jade's displeasure, as she hated lines), and got their pancakes. The kids smothered theirs in chocolate chips, marshmallows, and chocolate syrup, whereas Beck and Jade chose maple syrup and chocolate chips, and maple and blueberries, respectively.

"I didn't know you liked blueberry pancakes," Beck said to his girlfriend, a little surprised that in three years of dating and countless pancakes, he had never learned this.

"Well, now you know." She responded, focused on her pancakes. He shrugged, and ate.

After breakfast, the adults forced the kids to do the dishes. Jackie, Lyss, and Teddy complained, although at age five, Teddy couldn't really be expected to do anything. Beck half-expected Jade to make some snarky comment, or just walk away, but she simply did as the grown-ups asked, which surprised him.

"You really are trying to be nice." He told her after they'd finished, and were relaxing in the small sitting spot in the dining area, adjacent to the kitchen.

"Duh. Haven't we gone over this?"

"Yes, but.."

"You didn't believe me?"

"Of course I did!" he exclaimed, sensing she was about to get mad. "It's just.. you're not.. great… at being kind to others."

"So? Can't I start?"

"Was I complaining? I think it's kind of nice."

"Good. Otherwise I might have to shove you off a cliff."

"There are no cliffs around here."

"I would find one, just for you."

"Gee, thanks."

_-to be continued—_

**A/N: this is more of an intro chapter; the really plot, and reason for the title, will come later. Expect shorter chapters, too. This idea came from the East Coast's earthquake on Tuesday; it was scary! The building I was in was shaking really badly. Now I've experienced an earthquake. Yay! Sort of.**

**Anyway. Review, favorite, etc. Put this on alert! I don't know how often I can update, since school starts on Monday I won't be able to stay up late writing. Night is when I write (rhyme alert), 'cause I'm much more inspired and my daytime stories are crap.**

**Again, review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Beck and Jade sat together by the side of the swimming hole, watching the sunlight reflect off the surface of the water.

"I cannot believe your aunt and uncle forced us to come down here and watch your cousins." Jade said bitterly.

"It's not like they can come by themselves."

"So their _parents_ couldn't have come watched them?"

"They were… busy…"

"Yeah. Doing each other."

"Um…. I feel uncomfortable now."

"Good."

"You know, we could go swimming, too." Beck suggested, trying to move the conversation away from his aunt and uncle's current occupation.

"The water's all brown. Gross."

"No, really, it's not.. like, at all… are you feeling okay?" He reached over to feel her forehead, but she swatted his hand away. "Kidding."

"I'm fine, idiot. Just tired."

"Didn't you sleep last night? You know, when it gets dark and you get into bed, that's normally when –"

"I'm still considering the cliff thing."

"Shutting up."

"Anyway, I'm tired 'cause _your_ cousins were up half the night screaming in the next room, and I couldn't sleep."

"This coming from the girl who slept through a war and an escaping prisoner coming through the window and crashing onto your bed before being dragged out by soldiers in Yerba."

"_So?_" She glared at him.

"Chill." He answered, smiling lazily and leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"Eww!" came a shriek from the water, and the couple looked up to find the kids staring at them. The scream had come from seven-year-old Alyssa, who looked a little bit disgusted. "Boys have cooties, Jade, don't you know that?" she asked.

Jade snorted.

"Maybe they wear off when they get as old as Beck." Jackie, Alyssa's older sister, said to her.

"Maybe." Lyss echoed.

"Boys don't have cooties!" Teddy, their five-year-old little brother, interjected, looking hurt.

"Yes, they do." Lyss retorted.

"Nu-uh!"

"Uh-huh!" Beck and Jade, who had been watching the little exchange amusedly, shrugged and turned back towards each other, kissing again.

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

After a late lunch made by Beck's mom and Aunt Rachel (Jade had wondered aloud if Beck's family was sexist 'cause the women did all the cooking), Beck grabbed a blanket from his room and pulled Jade onto the sitting-area couch.

"Why?" she asked as he lay down, pulling her with him and spreading the blanket overtop of them.

"You said you were tired. So we're going to take a nap."

"On the couch? Why not in an actual bed? You were the one who said beds were for sleeping."

"Did I?" he asked innocently. "To answer your question- because Teddy is asleep in my room and I'm not allowed in yours."

"Fine." She said, grumpy, put snuggled against him nonetheless.

"'Night." He said, kissing her forehead.

"It's not nighttime." she said, her eyes closed.

"But that is what people say when other people are going to sleep, so I said it."

"Don't be a conformist, Beck. I'll have to break up with you."

"Well, in that case…" he said, his tone pondering.

"Dude."

"Kidding, kidding."

"You'd better be."

"So, good night, Jade."

"Quit it!" she whined.

"Good day?"

"Now you sound all English and crap."

"Do you have a grudge against English people, too? I still don't understand what you have against Canadians."

"Your so-called "bacon" is really just ham! I mean, who does that? You get people's hopes up by calling it bacon but then they get all sad when they realize that you idiots just re-named ham "bacon".

"…..but you don't even like bacon that much."

"So?"

"So… forget it. Sleep. Now."

"What, no "good night"?" she asked, looking up at him with an innocent smile.

"Sweet dreams!" he half-yelled. She snickered and tuckered her head back against his shoulder. He sighed, smiling, before laying his own head down to go to sleep.

**A/N: Sort of a filler chapter. The action starts next chapter, I promise! By the way I wrote this during the day, so I hope I was wrong and this is not crap. **

**Seriously, what's up with Canadian bacon just being ham?**

**Review for not-bacon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, but I started school Monday, and I'm taking three AP (college level) classes out of my four. So I have a crapload of homework and afterwards I'm braindead and can't do anything. So so sorry! Really, I'll probably only update on weekends or school holidays, although this isn't going to be too long, maybe around ten chapters.**

**Okay, so Word told me the "I'm" in the first line should be "I are". WTF?**

**To Emma/Louise Nordoff: Hii! Enjoy your reruns of Pysch! :D**

At exactly two-ten in the afternoon, while Beck and Jade were still asleep on the couch, and the rest of the family members were scattered throughout the house doing there own things, it happened.

Jade woke up when the house started to shake. It was gentle at first, and she thought it might be the wind, but it grew violent quickly, and that's when Beck woke up.

"Babe? Why are you shaking the couch?" he asked, sleepy, but when he opened his eyes he found Jade staring at him in shock, and looked over to see the frame of the house shaking so hard it looked as though the window might shatter. He understood in an instant.

"EARTHQUAKE!" he yelled, hardly knowing why, and grabbed a still-frozen Jade, pulling them both off of the sofa and under the oak coffee table. "Jade.. Jade…" he whispered, anxious.

Jade was shaking, but finally broke out of her trance. "Beck", she whimpered, moving closer to him.

"It's okay," he murmured, only realizing how stupid that was when she glared up at him. "Sorry." He whispered. Around them, things were flying off their shelves, becoming hazardous projectiles. The ceiling was actually cracking, and pieces were beginning to fall to the floor. Bookshelves, and the fridge, were in the process of toppling over. This was the worst earthquake both Beck and Jade had ever experienced, and that's saying something when you live in L.A

Beck remembered a random earthquake-safety fact from school: if there is an earthquake, get in a doorframe. He never understood that, and he figured it certainly wouldn't help now. A shelving unit had fallen into the archway between the living room and the hall, and if they had been standing there, it certainly would have killed them.

Something heavy smacked against the top of the coffee table, making an audible crack, and the table shifted four inches. Beck and Jade moved with it. Under it, they would at least be protected from falling ceiling bits. Speaking of which, more ceiling kept falling, coming down around them. One fell so close, he would've sworn it hit Jade's back.

"Jade? You okay?"

"No, Beck, I'm perfectly okay! It's not like we're in the middle of a freakin' earthquake or anything!" she screamed, her voice close to hysteria.

"I just meant.. I thought the ceiling hit you." Wow that sounded weird to say.

"No, it didn't. I'm thinking it might, though."

"Don't say that!"

"Well, Beck," she screamed, seeing as the rumbling noise and the sound of everything falling and breaking was so loud, "this has got to be at least a 7 quake. Which, as you know, is pretty horrible. And potentially deadly!"

"Oh, baby.." he whispered, fear crashing down on him. If this table broke…. They might not make it. The whole roof could collapse in on them. And his family.. little Teddy, and Lyss and Jackie.. his mom and dad.. and Jade. Choking back a sob, he buried his face in Jade's hair.

"Hey, c'mon now…." Jade said, feeling bad for making him feel bad," I mean, I'm not really one to be optimistic" (he smiled despite himself)"but this table's pretty sturdy. If the shaking stops soon we should be okay." The quake had been going on for about three minutes now, a long time for an earthquake. Science was on their side.

After another minute, the shaking did indeed grow less violent, before slowing to a stop. It felt like it had started an hour ago.

Beck scooted out from under the coffee, which was a challenge itself. The space around it was littered with broken knickknacks, toppled furniture, and ceiling chunks. He looked up at the ceiling, making sure it wasn't still cracking (it wasn't), and then helped Jade pull herself out. He wrapped her in a hug, kissing her cheek.

"We should probably go find the family." He said after another ten seconds. They hadn't heard any shouts, and Beck was getting concern. By the look on her face, Jade was, too.

They picked their way across the floor. "Okay," Jade said. "You go that way," she pointed to the hall leading off to the left, "and I'll go this way." Neither really wanted to split up, but they'd look faster that way. Beck leaned down to kiss Jade.

"I love you." He said.

"I love you, too." She answered, her voice shaking. They were both traumatized, but had to get over it to find the family.

They walked away.

_xxxxxxxxxxx_

Ten minutes later, the family was gathered in the destroyed kitchen. Beck had found Aunt Rachel and Uncle Ken first, trapped in their room because a cabinet had fallen in front of their door from the outside. Beck shoved it aside and they ran out, looking frantic. Aunt Rachel kept shouting her kid's names. Beck too them to the kitchen, where, thankfully, Jade was delivering Teddy, Alyssa, and Jackie.

"Mommy! Daddy!" the three shouted in unison. Tear tracks still showed on their faces, and they were covered in dust, presumably from the plaster ceiling, and, possibly, walls.

"My babies! Are you all okay?" Aunt Rachel asked, falling on them and hugging them. Uncle Ken followed suit.

"Yeah, we're fine." Jackie said.

"We got under the bed, like you told us to do in an earthquake." Teddy said, eyes wide.

"Good boy, Teddy. Good job." Uncle Ken praised.

Beck and Jade looked at each other, relieved to have found a few relatives. They walked into the hall again, and found Beck's mom, dad, and grandma coming towards them. They returned to the kitchen, where more love and joy was passed around. Uncle Ken found a radio, and was about to turn it on, when Jade said, "Hey, where's Jack?"

Everyone paused, confused. Grandpa Jack was so not-present most of the time that everyone had, in their panic and then relief, forgotten him. He wasn't in the kitchen with the rest of the family.

"You know what, I'll go find him." Jade said. Beck watched her walk out, calling Grandpa Jack's name, which, to her, was just Jack. She was all the way at the end off the hall, in the main living room, when she sounded like she found him. "Jack! Your family's all in the-"

Her voice broke off as the building started to shake. Again. _Aftershocks._ "Jade!" Beck yelled, seeing Aunt Rachel and Uncle Ken pull their kids close out of the corner of his eye. He started down the hall toward her, but soon stopped.

A loud cracking was coming from the infrastructure of the house. Not the whole house, just the part that didn't contain the majority of Beck's family. It got louder, and to Beck's horror, crashing came from the opposite side of the house. Not furniture-falling crashing, but roof-and-walls collapsing crashing. The house, which had stopped shaking when the first aftershock finished, shook again, but in a different way.

A long, high pitched scream came amongst the crashing sounds.

Jade. Jade was in the room with the roof caving in.

**A/N: Meh.**

**Okay, so the ending was kinda cheesy. Whatever. And yes, they were a little bit out of character. Reasonably so. Come on, people, even Jade wouldn't be all "I hate you all" in the middle of a Japan-esque earthquake.**

**Review for string cheese! New chapter in a week! Or, since Monday is labour day, maybe then.**


	4. Chapter 4

**REPOSTED WITH CORRECTED ERRORS. SORRY.**

**A/N: Okay, so I ran over the week a little bit. I remembered I was supposed to update this last night, but by then I was half-asleep and I didn't want to get up. So yeah.**

**Today we honor all those who died in the September 11****th**** attacks. I especially thank those of Flight 93, along with the men and women in uniform, who willingly gave their lives so that we may be safe. Thank you.**

**For the record, Beck's mom's name is Ella, and his dad's name is James. In this story, anyway.**

_Jade. Jade was in the room with the roof caving in._

Beck's father had grabbed him as soon as Beck had started towards the other end of the house."No, son, you can't. You can't help her!" Beck struggled, but couldn't escape his father's grip. However, as soon as the aftershock was over, Beck's dad released him, and Beck tore down the hall. "Be careful!" his mom called after him, before following along with the rest of the family.

In the living room, where Jade and Grandpa Jack had been, the damage was devastating. The roof was collapsed, its heavy wooden beams and plaster strewn on the floor. The brick chimney had also fallen into the center of the room. Two of the outer walls, made up of concrete blocks and more wood beams, had caved in as well. The debris was everywhere, piled at least six feet high.

There seemed like there was no way anyone could've survived in it.

And yet, Beck didn't feel any grief. He held out hope. He had to.

"Jade!" He called. "Jade, where are you?" His aunt and uncle exchanged a look, and his uncle put a hand on Beck's shoulder.

"Son, she couldn't have-"Beck shrugged him off, still calling Jade's name. As the minutes went by, though, he felt himself beginning to lose hope, and a deep despair filled him. His voice wavered and broke off. How could she be dead? Mere minutes ago, he'd held her close and promised to protect her. And yet, here they were.

Beck almost fell to his knees, when a voice called, sounding like it came from far away, "Beck?"

Unmistakably Jade's voice. "Jade!" he yelled. "Jade, sweetie! Are you okay?"

A moment of silence, before she answered, "I think so, somehow. I was between the couch and the table when everything fell, and there's sort of a pocket here." She paused. "Are you guys okay?" she asked, a note of anxiety in her voice.

Beck laughed in relief. "Yes, we're all fine. Only your end of the house collapsed like this."

Beck's grandmother spoke up. "No, actually, we're not _all_ fine. Dearie, did you find Grandpa Jack?" she called into the part of the pile where Jade's voice was coming from.

"Yeah.. I saw him.. y'know, before. Now I don't know.. it's so dark in here." She answered.

"Jade, you always carry a lighter, remember?" Beck told her. Although it was more like yelled at her, since she wouldn't have been able to hear them if they were just talking. Beck had learned about Jade's strange habit a year ago, when Beck's family (plus Jade) had been camping, and they'd forgotten to bring matches to start the campfire. Jade and pulled a lighter from her pocket, to which Beck asked her about, and she said she carried one everywhere, even to school. Don't tell.

"Oh…right." She shut up, and Beck assumed she'd pulled out the lighter and was now looking around her space. The family waited for her to speak, growing more impatient as a minute or two passed.

Finally, Beck spoke up. "Jade? Everything okay?"

When Jade answered, it sounded like she was close to tears. That could never be good, especially with a person who rarely cries. "It's Jack." Beck's grandmother sucked in a breath. "He's.. caught under part of the chimney."

Everyone in the family froze at this, except Teddy, who was a bit young to know what that meant, exactly. Grandma Rose was the only one with the nerve to speak. "Is he dead?" she asked, her voice surprisingly steady and calm.

"Uhm…. No, he's breathing. But barely… oh God, please, get us out of here! He needs help!" her voice was close to hysteria now, which scared Beck more than a little.

"Jade? Jade. How much of his body is trapped?" His uncle asked.

"J-just his legs, up to the middle of his thigh."

"So, nothing particularly fatal," his uncle said, just to the family outside of the wreckage.

Jade must have heard him, though, because she said, "He's bleeding, though. A lot. I'm not sure he'll..." She stopped. "Just, please, get us out. Hurry."

"I've called nine-one-one." Aunt Rachel spoke for the first time. "The operator said the quake spread from Oregon into Northern Canada. The epicenter was just a few miles south of here, and our area got the most damage. She said that so many people have been affected, and need help, that they don't know when someone will be free to come out here." She sounded nervous as she spoke. Obviously, she thought it would be a long time.

"Jade?" Beck's dad called to her. "How long do you think Grandpa Jack… has?"

"I don't know, really.. I'd say and hour and a half at most. He really is bleeding a lot." Jade still sounded shell-shocked, and Beck was terrified for her.

"We have to try and get them out ourselves." he told his family. "Another aftershock could shake this up a little more, and crush the spot where Grandpa Jack and Jade are." He paused, trying not to dwell on that. He'd already considered that Jade might be dead once, and never wanted to do it again. "Jade said Grandpa Jack doesn't have a lot if time. We can't wait around; he might be too far gone before anyone gets here."

"Beck's right." Jackie said. Everyone looked at her. "We can do it! We have to do it!"

"Okay. We can try." Uncle Ken said, slowly, worry creasing his face. "But we have to be very careful. If an aftershock comes, if the pile shifts, _anything_ that could hurt one of us, we move away. That means you, too," he added, glaring at Beck, who looked away.

"Jackie, you Lyss and Teddy start moving some of the smaller pieces of plaster away. Work together if you have to. And _be careful_!" his children nodded. "Rache, you, mom, and Ella move big pieces of plaster, and James, Beck, and I will move the ceiling beams. Okay?" The family murmured their agreement. "Good. Now let's get started."

**A/N: There ya go. I don't know if I mentioned Beck's parent's names before, but sorry if I did. I probably confused you. Oh well. GET OVER IT. :) **

**Reviews are like Bade! Which is some metaphor I can't think of a good meaning for, so anyway, just review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, but I really don't have time to do a schedule for this thing and stick to it. I'll just update when I can, kay? Kay.**

**I'm going to switch back and forth between Beck's and Jade's points of view every chapter (or so). You should be able to tell who's talking.**

Jade sat amid the rubble of the once-great house, legs scrunched up against her chest in an attempt to keep them from hitting the only other occupant of this tiny space: Jack.

The poor man was still breathing, but barely, and Jade had already figured out that that little miracle wouldn't last a whole lot longer unless they got out of here. Jack's legs were crushed underneath a section of fallen wall, so much so that there was literally blood oozing out into the pocket of space. Normally, Jade would find that hilarious, but now that it was actually happening in real life, to _Beck's grandfather_ of all people, she honestly felt like crying.

Now, everyone knew that Jade wasn't big on crying. She never really lost control over that side of her emotions, to just be able to break down and cry. But something about just watching the old man lie there, near death, trapped under a wall and away from the family who loved him, was just so sad. Even to Jade.

Ten minutes had passed since Beck had told Jade that the family was going to try to get the trapped pair out themselves, and Jade was getting restless. She couldn't hear them, and could barely see, even with the dim glow from the flame of her lighter, which she had to put out every so often to avoid using it up. She coughed from the dust floating in the air.

"Jade!" came a faint call from outside.

"What?" she snapped back, trying to keep up her strong façade.

"You okay in there?" It was Beck, of course, making sure she wasn't dead.

…_okay, under the circumstances, that joke probably wasn't the best choice._ "I'm fine!" she yelled. It's just dusty in here. What'd you expect?"

"Oh, Jade," he sighed (albeit loudly enough that she could hear him). "You are such a… Jade."

"Is that a bad thing?" she screeched, instantly angry.

"Nope. I love Jade." He answered, sounding amused.

"You'd better." She growled, but her tone held much less venom than before. Beck had a special talent at pacifying Jade when she got angry. That was probably one of the reasons they'd lasted so long.. almost three years. They'd started to date in November of their freshman year, after being friends throughout middle school. Now it was August, right before their junior year of high school.

Jade started out of her reverie when she noticed Jack stirring from his side of their shared space. She'd figured that there was no way he'd wake up, especially after that amount of blood loss and trauma to his body. She was even more shocked when he started talking to her.

"What… what happened?" he asked. His voice was weak and raspy, punctured by coughing.

"Uhh, well… there was an earthquake, and y-you and I got trapped under falling… house-parts…" she managed.

"Why I can't I feel my legs?"

_Oh, God, _she thought,_ I can't tell him that. How do you tell a person something like that? "Oh, no biggie, they're just smashed under a huge concrete wall and you'll never regain the use of them. In fact, they'll probably just have to be chopped off!"_

Jade admitted to herself than under a normal circumstance that is actually something she might say. Well.. maybe not to an actual person (she wasn't quite that cruel to everyone, usually only to the Vega's), but in a hypothetical situation.

She remembered the old man had asked her a question. "Oh… well… uhh, they're kind of…" she stuttered.

"Spit it out, girl!" he interrupted. Jade caught herself before throwing back a nasty retort.

"They're caught under part of the wall that fell." She said, quickly, as though that would make it any easier.

He just looked at her, and didn't answer.

"Jade!" Beck called again. It had been another ten minutes.

"Yeah?" she responded, surprised to find that her voice was a little bit unsteady. She hoped Beck wouldn't notice.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice instantly guarded. Of course he noticed. He knew her that well.

"Nothing's.. wrong. It's just… Jack's awake."

Silence, and then-"But I thought you said he was-"

"Why are y'all talking about me like I'm not here?" the old man demanded, certainly loud enough for the family outside to hear.

"Jack!" That was Beck's grandma, judging by the voice. "Jack, are you okay?" _Obviously not, considering he's halfway underneath a cement-block wall._ Jade thought, then instantly felt bad about it. _Jeez, I'm being my own opposite today._

"Well, Rosie, since I've got my legs stuck under a heavy wall…. no." And with that, Jade decided that this guy was okay by her standards. Which says a lot.

"Oh, Jack…" Beck's grandma cried, and then it sounded like she'd started to sob.

"Rose, quit your crying and get me and this here young lady out of this mess." he ordered.

"O-okay." She answered, sniffling.

"How much longer do you think it'll take?" Jade called, eyeing the still-expanding pool of blood by Jack.

"Hard to say." Beck (of course it was Beck.) answered. "At least an hour and a half, maybe more."

"All right… try to hurry, 'kay?" she said, urgency lacing her tone. Beck and his family outside understood the reasoning behind her request, but evidently Jack didn't.

"Hush, young lady, they're doing the best they can. Besides, we don't need to be outta here real soon."

Jade bit her lip to keep form arguing, and instead simply said, "Call me Jade."

"Alright, Jade. Now, tell me all about your and Beck's relationship."

_Oh, great._

**A/N: Short, yeah yeah. Don't kill me. I have a lot of schoolwork and I like to just chill when I finish. My cat, whose name is Cookie, is sitting next to me. Say hi Cookie!**

**REEEER! (yes, that is actually the sound my cat makes.)**

**Hi Emma!**

**Review for cookies! Not my cat, though.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I have stuffed whale named Willie. He looks like the whales from Dr. Seuss's "If I Ran the Circus". Woo.**

**My toes are cold.**

"Alright, Jade. Now, tell me all about your and Beck's relationship."

_Oh, great._

Jade really didn't want to talk about her relationship, especially to a virtual stranger. She never did, anyway, and him being Beck's grandpa would make the situation all the more awkward. But.. she couldn't really refuse a dying man… right?

"Um… well, what do you want to know?" she asked, stalling for time.

"How long have you two been datin'?" the old man asked roughly.

"Three years in November."

"An' how old are you, again?" He looked a bit amused.

"Sixteen and a half." She responded, a touch of anger coming into her voice. He seemed to find it funny that two "kids" could form a serious relationship, which she and Beck obviously had.

"Ah… you know how old I was when I met Rosie?"

"Twenty-three?" she deadpanned.

"Nope. We were nine. We started 'dating' when we were eleven, but our parents wouldn't let us go out together 'til we were fifteen. Her father threatened me with his shotgun when I was thirteen, an' made me promise I wouldn't hurt his little girl. Scared me pretty good." He laughed, reminiscing.

In the back of her mind, Jade was slightly surprised that she actually found this interesting. "When my father met Beck, all he said was 'Don't get pregnant', before slamming the door in our faces."

"He sounds like a real great guy." Jack answered.

"Uh, no."

"I was usin' sarcasm, young lady."

_Old people know how to use sarcasm?_ Jade had never meant an old person she'd actually liked. They were too formal and judgmental for her. And they always seemed to direct their judgment at her, not that she didn't always deserve it. "My mom's not too terrible. She doesn't mind if I stay with Beck for a while, but she usually makes sure I'm okay." It was only after she'd said that when she realized what she'd said.

"Ah, so you and my grandson sleep together, huh?" Jade winced, but evidently he'd meant that in a purely literal way.

"Yes…" she murmured, ashamed for some reason. She wasn't being herself, but something about this man changed her into a gentler person.

"I deflowered Rosie when she was seventeen. Her father only found out after we were married, but he was still mad as hell."

Jade laughed, shocked he was telling her this. Old people rarely admitted that they'd done things considered scandalous on their times. Plus, why should he tell her? They barely knew each other. To top it off, he was looking alabaster pale, and he'd probably be better off if he was just laying there, not talking.

"I s'pose you and Beck have done 'it'." he said. It wasn't really a question.

"Uhh… well….." Jade really had no idea how answer that. He was Beck's grandfather; surely he'd rather his grandson remain innocent in his eyes?

"So, you have." He said. Seeing her expression, he told her, "Your silence said it all, honey."

"…so moving on…" Jade muttered. He laughed.

"You kids go to a performing arts school, yeah?"

"Hollywood Arts." She confirmed.

"What goes on there?"

"Well, it's visual and performing arts, plus we have special effects stuff. There are classes for all those, plus regular classes. We do a lot of plays, performances, and art shows. It's fun." Yes, Jade thought something was fun. Gasp.

"What do you and the boy wanna do?"

"We want to become actors. Like, famous actors, 'cause we sort of already are 'actors'. Plus, I love writing plays, so I'd like to do that, too. And maybe some singing."

"I meant about your relationship."

"Oh.. well.." They'd never really talked about that. It was touchy. They weren't sure if they were going to end up together or not. It was hard to tell with them, sometimes. They weren't the steadiest couple. "We really don't know right now."

"What do you want to happen?"

"Huh?"

"Well, what do you _want_ to happen between the you two? Not what you think will happen."

Jade paused, thinking. _What do I want? …What does Beck want? _

"I think.. I want to marry him."

She half-expected the man to condemn this, saying she was too young to know such things. Sure, he married the woman he'd met at nine, but he was still an old person. Most old people always tried to force their advice on you, and were very opinionated on young people. Not in a good way.

"And how does he feel about that?"

Her eyebrows scrunched together. "We don't really talk about the future."

"Why not?"

"It's too… uncertain. How do we know something won't happen between now and then, and we'll break up?" She asked, surprised at herself for opening her mind to Jack.

"It only remains uncertain if you let it. Talk to the boy."

Jade processed that. "Thanks. I think I will."

"Good." He nodded resolutely.

"How's it goin' out there?" he yelled to the family, who was presumably hard at work trying to get them out.

The gentle sounds of shifting rubble stopped. "It's coming along." Uncle Ken called back. "Maybe another hour of work. How are you two holding up?"

"We're good. Young Jade here has just been regaling me with stories of her and Beck."

"I have not!" Jade protested loudly. Jack just laughed.

"Soo… you guys are good?" a different voice asked.

"We're _fine_, Beckett." Jade answered, a bit of irritation in her voice.

"Just _checking_, Jadelyn." He responded in the same tone.

"I told you not to call me that!"

"You called me Beckett! Why can't I call you by your full name?"

"That is irrelevant! You should-"

"Okay, okay." Uncle Ken interrupted. "Let's get back to work, everyone. Not you two, though." He added as an afterthought.

"Thanks, Ken." Jack called back sarcastically. Jade snickered.

She really did like this guy.

**A/N: Tori Tortures Teacher tonight (alliteration!), but I'm way more excited for Jade Gets Crushed. I'm hoping for lots of Bade and only one-sided Jandre. Maybe some Tandre, too. Anyway…**

**I'm pretty sure "It only remains uncertain if you let it." Is the best bit of advice I've ever come up with. And it's true!**

**So they're just talking about lighthearted stuff now. It'll get deeper. We have to go deeper! **

**Movie quotes, anyone? Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Oh please don't kill me. I've been overloaded with school. I could be doing AP US reading now, but I'm not. So be happy.**

**This is probably going to be a short, Beck-POV chapter. I'll probably update once or twice over winter break. **

**Also I'm listening to "It's Not Christmas Without You". :D**

Being a guy, Beck was never one to admit weakness of any kind. Especially physical weakness. But right now, his back was killing from moving so many heavy house bits.

It seemed like everyone was starting to feel like that, because they'd slowed down their pace a lot. Teddy was slumped against the wall, and his sisters had reduced themselves to carrying the smallest of pieces of rubble.

Beck sympathized with them, but at the same time wished they'd hurry up and get back to moving quickly. According to Jade, time was of the essence with Grandpa Jack, and of course he'd prefer to have both of them out here instead of trapped inside a tiny gap where one little shifting of the pile could collapse it.

It had been 2 or so hours since the quake and the first aftershock or whatever it had been that made the living room cave in. His grandma kept checking the news and she said that there was still a possibility of more, violent aftershocks. She updated the rest of the family every twenty minutes or so, but she kept her voice quiet so Jade and Grandpa Jack wouldn't hear her.

Really, the whole family seemed to have this mindset that the both of them were sitting in there dying of fright. In fact, Beck's mom and dad had had a whole debate over the level of fear in Jade's voice (which he thought was really weird, but..), but then Beck's father brought up the point that Jade was an actress so they would be able to accurately tell anyway. His mom said she'd be too freaked out to act. The argument had gotten pretty heated –and loud- until Beck's grandma had told them to shut up.

Jade's acting ability aside, Beck knew Jade was probably quite calm, and was most likely just complaining to Grandpa Jack about being trapped with him (and not Beck). Or ignoring him completely, depending on her mood. As for Grandpa Jack, he was never excited by anything, so Beck really had no idea why his family thought he'd be so scared. The man had been the Canadian equivalent of a navy SEAL, so he'd certainly seen worse carnage. _Although it has to be a lot freakier when it happens to you,_ Beck mused.

It had been maybe half an hour since he'd checked in with his girlfriend, so he figured it was a good time to do it again.

"Ja-ade!" he practically singsonged. He knew she'd hate that, of course, but he was also guilty of trying to keep the trapped duo's minds off their situation. For Jade, that meant annoying her as much as possible.

"What? Jack and I were having a conversation in here, ya know!" came the angry reply.

Beck grinned. "Good to know you're keeping busy." he teased.

"Oh, like we can do anything in here." _We?_ He thought. Jade would only refer to herself and another person as a single entity when she liked the person. And from what he could tell from the last few days, Jade did not like Grandpa Jack (and the feeling seemed mutual). Sure, she'd been concerned about the guy when she saw that his legs were being crushed, but even Jade wasn't heartless, despite how she acted.

"You could entertain us. Sing." He told her jokingly.

"Did I mention we're having a conversation?"

"Yeah, Beckett, shut it!" That was definitely not Jade. That was Beck's grandpa. "Your lovely young lady and I are having a serious discussion!"

"'_Your'?_" Jade nearly shrieked. "Is Canada sexist or something? First, the women do al the cooking, and now I'm being referred to as if I belong to my boyfriend!"

"Now, now, Jade, I was jus' sayin'-" Grandpa Jack replied, his voice reproaching.

All Beck could hear after that was some mumbling and the occasional raising of a voice (presumably Jade's). He assumed they'd kept on arguing with each other about the status of women compared to men in Canada, but just toned it down.

For the record, Beck's mom and aunt did all the cooking because the men were horrible at it. They'd wanted to take cooking classes, but were kicked out for being "too bad".

After Jade and Grandpa Jack's argument, Beck's family members looked at him like he was insane. He stared back at them until one of them, Uncle Ken, spoke.

"That sure is some girl you got there, Beck."

_You have no idea._ He thought, and grinned, before going back to work.

Beck's grandma returned to the room (not that Beck had ever noticed her leaving; he was probably too busy listening to Jade and his grandpa yell at each other) from the kitchen.

"So, according the weather report, aftershocks have occurred, localized in Washington, Vancouver, and areas around that region. They say our area is probably next." She announced, looking worried.

"Death toll?" Uncle Ken asked, rather shortly.

Grandma Rose glanced at the kids and lowered her voice before replying. "It's just an estimate at this point, but.. upwards of 450."

"Oh my God…" Aunt Rachel whispered.

"So, how bad are the aftershocks?" Beck's dad asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"A little less intense than the earthquake. Apparently the 'aftershock' that caused this" she gestured to the pile of rubble the used to be the living room "was really part two of the quake. The real aftershocks aren't quite as bad, but still bad enough to cause more damage."

"Oh, no." Beck's mom said. Aunt Rachel drew in her breath sharply.

Everyone (over the age of ten) knew what this information meant. An aftershock at this point, if they were as bad as Grandma Rose had reported, could bring the perfect cave inside the pile crashing to the floor.

Which, of course, would crush its occupants, Grandpa Jack and Jade.

**A/N: I'm so thirsty.**

**You're welcome, by the way. It's 10:10 pm. Good night.**

**Review! Please. : )**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So I've been thinking over the past few weeks that I'd update again over winter break… and then today I realized it **_**was**_** winter break now. So… here ya go.**

"So, Jade, tell me about your friends". Jack said casually.

Jade paused. They had been talking about the status of women compared to men in Canada, and Jade still wasn't sure they were quite equal. But the conversation had lulled, until Jack had just spoken. "Well, I suppose Beck is one of my best friends.." she tried, hoping the conversation would redirect itself.

"I mean, 'sides him. That's an obvious one, I'd hope." He answered, a note of challenge in his voice.

"Well, um, there's this girl Cat. I've known her since, like, second grade. We're friends, but she's practically insane and really annoys me sometimes."

"Insane how?"

"She acts like a five year old, but she's book-smart. She never understands any of our jokes or that this stupid _puppet_ that Robbie carries around isn't real. And she doesn't understand why anyone would ever do anything mean."

"Wait, who's Robbie?"

"He's this guy who's really nerdy and… carries around a puppet. Who he's named Rex. Rex is really obnoxious, but it's also obviously Robbie's who's doing Rex's voice. He's a ventriloquist."

"So, he's your frien' too?" Jack asked.

"I guess.. I mean, we hang out together with the rest of the group. But sometimes he annoys me, too, and I'd like him so much better if he _got rid of that stupid puppet_."

"I think everyone annoys ya."

"Pretty much. Some more than others. Like Vega." She muttered, hoping Jack wouldn't hear the last part.

He did. "'Vega'?"

She sighed, not wanting to talk about her. "Tori… Vega. She came to Hollywood Arts a year and a half ago. She..just….yeah."

He waited patiently.

"The first thing she did when she came was spill her coffee on Beck. But he didn't get mad, just smiled at her. _Then_ we were doing an acting exercise and she kissed Beck! And she knew we were dating!" she exploded.

"An' why did she do that?"

"Because she's devious! And I _might_ have poured some iced coffee on her head… but you don't just go around kissing other people's boyfriends!"

"So.. she's still getting' revenge and doin' mean things."

"No.. not really. Well, actually, she did spray hot cheese on Cat and her boyfriend, Daniel, who's not her boyfriend anymore, and who's also Tori's ex. And then she threw a prom –which she called the "prome" and I never understood _that_- on the day I was going to do a performance. Which she knew about."

"She's never done anythin' nice?"

"Well, she did help me get back together with Beck when we broke up for like four days." He raised an eyebrow. "And she helped us get back at these mean girls at a karaoke place- long story. And I guess she's usually nice enough, even to Cat. Most people kind of ignore Cat."

"So this girl has never been openly mean since you met her?"

Jade considered. "No, I guess not."

Jack smiled. "So, you don' think ya should be nicer to her? She did help you and Beck git back together."

"I never said I was mean to her!"

" Come on. You?"

"Okay. But she's always happy and up in people's business and irritating!"

"But she means well."

Jade sighed, beaten. "Fine, yes."

"So you're gonna-" Jack started, but he never finished. As he spoke, the floor started to tremble again, and dust fell from the roof of the space. Jade gasped involuntarily as an all too familiar rumbling noise became apparent. It quickly grew louder. She looked at Jack, eyes wide.

"Aftershock." He mouthed.

Then the roof started to collapse.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Beck had been ordered to rest along with the rest of his family when the clock struck four, marking approximately two hours since the earthquake. They'd made pretty good progress, but, judging from the distance of their voices, Jade and Grandpa Jack were in pretty deep, and they had a ways to go before they'd reach them.

His mother was passing out cups of water. Beck accepted his and drank greedily, then stood up to get back to work.

As did, he became aware of a slight trembling in the house. As it intensified, his family noticed it, too. Aunt Rachel and Uncle Ken dove for their kids, and Beck's mom and dad huddled together with his grandma. The structure of the house was shifting again, and dust and debris rained down form the ceiling. Beck barely noticed. He was focused on the rubble from the last quake, which was also moving.

He moved closer, anxious, until his dad grabbed his arm. "It's unstable." He practically had to yell. "You can't get close."

Beck obeyed, for now. The pile didn't seem to be too affected, but still….

Of course, as soon as he thought that, the top of it caved in.

Murphy's Law.

**A/N: Muahahahahaha! **

**You don't get to know what happens yet..!**

**But I know. Merry Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/holidays! **

**I hope I didn't ruin it for you.. but then again, if you're that involved, you may need the help of a licensed professional. **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hi all.**

"_Aftershock." He mouthed. _

_Then the roof started to collapse._

As the top of their tiny pocket began falling in on top of them, Jade almost automatically moved over to Jack's side. She knew she wouldn't be able to protect him from the debris, and something on his face told her he'd prefer that she not even try. So she put one arm over her head, and with the other, held the old man's hand.

Nothing heavy had come down yet, but Jade knew that high above their heads was a pile of beams and bricks that could easily crush them both. It was a miracle they'd survived the first quake, and she figured an aftershock would be pushing their luck.

A cough came from her side, and she looked down, but realized she could no longer see. Plaster dust reigned down around them, choking the little air they had available to them. Jade began to cough, too, the spasms wracking her entire body.

Something very heavy struck the arm protecting her head, and she couldn't hold back a scream. It was bleeding onto her head and face, and she was in agony. Distantly, she heard someone faintly yelling her name, someone outside.

Suddenly the rubble ceased shifting, and when the blood roaring through her ears stopped, she realized she could no longer hear the ground rumbling, either. The aftershock was over.

The dust was settling from the air, and Jade drew a deep breath. Slowly, she brought her arm down off her head and lit her miraculously unharmed lighter to take a look at it. It was definitely broken, and was bleeding from where whatever had fallen on her –probably a brick- had cut the skin, but she'd live.

"Jade!" Beck's frantic voice cut through her thoughts. She realized he had already called to her a few times. She'd been distracted, but Jack didn't notice either.

Jack. He should have said something by now, told her to listen up, that young people were making themselves deaf with "those newfangled music devices" and she was most certainly a victim. Gently, she prodded his side. "Jack?" she whispered, hesitant to break the silence. "Jack?"

No reply. She forced herself to flick the lighter back on and scan the pool of light over his body. It was covered in a fine layer of dust. He seemed unharmed, besides the preliminary injury to his legs. She'd just reached his head when she saw it.

A flowering purple bruise on his forehead, off to one side. His skull was partially crushed in at the point of impact.

Jade knew before she knew. Her hand shaking, she reached for the pulse point on his neck and pressed her fingers against it, waiting.

Nothing.

_Nothing._

All the physical and emotional pain of the past hour rose up inside her, and she gave a wail of anguish. She wasn't only mourning Beck's grandfather, practically her grandfather-in-law, but a _friend_. Someone who had accepted her. And now he was dead.

"Jade!" Again, it was Beck's voice that snapped her out of her inner turmoil. He must have heard her scream when she confirmed Jack was dead.

"Beck… he's dead." And that's when she broke down, sobbing loudly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Beck….. he's dead." Jade said, her voice cracking. Then she started to cry.

Beck's grandmother gasped, and almost immediately the two wives were at her side, crying, to support her. His dad and uncle stood silently, and Jackie was crying. The other two kids looked uneasy and vaguely bewildered, but they didn't fully understand.

Beck himself sank to the ground, steadying his body on a chunk of concrete. He knew he should be sad, but now all he felt was terror. If Grandpa Jack had died, who's to say it couldn't happen to his Jade? And now she was all alone in there, trapped, and probably hurt given her earlier scream during the shock.

He felt a large had rest on his shoulder. His dad. "We need to get back to work, son. We have to get her out of there before the next shock comes. And we have to get Grandpa Jack's body out, too." He said this almost resignedly, as if the reason for their work had gone. But his face showed he meant it.

Beck nodded. He wanted Jade out. More than before. If that was possible.

Stretching out his arms, he got back to work, his dad and uncle joining him. So did everyone else, even Grandma Rose. She wasn't crying, but looked almost accepting of her husband's death. When she came up to gather a piece of plaster near Beck, she murmured to him "Don't worry, hon. We'll get her out. I promise. We have to."

"Thanks." He answered. She just nodded.

"Jade?" he called, rather softly.

"Yes?" Her voice was weary, and, for the first time, a little bit scared.

"Don't worry, baby. We'll get you out."

His only reply was disbelieving silence.

**A/N: I wasn't going to update yet, so, you're welcome. **

**But then again, perhaps you're not feeling to thankful right now…**

**Sorry.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sorry I suck so much. **

**Also, the last sentence for chapter nine was supposed to be "Her only reply was disbelieving silence" But I fail at pronouns and wrote his instead.**

**Last continual chapter, I think. There should be an epilogue. Bother me if I don't put one up in, say, a month.**

_Her only reply was disbelieving silence._

Jade sat huddled in her small space, shivering. Her arm hurt like nobody's business, but the worst part was being alone with Jack's body. Normally, Jade, being Jade, would have loved something like this, but it was different with him. She had started to love him like her own grandfather (only more, because her real grandfather was rich and judgmental) despite the fact that she'd only really known the man for about an hour and a half before his passing.

She rested her head against a bit of wall behind her and closed her eyes, grief washing over her for a moment. Then, with a sigh, she sat up and stretched, knowing the old man wouldn't have wanted her to mourn for too long, especially when she needed to focus on getting out of here.

However, the need seemed less urgent with Jack gone. No one was dying, not anymore. So Jade just let herself slip inside her own mind and just think.

_If I get out of here… I want to tell Tori I'm sorry. I _am_ sorry for all the trouble I've caused her, all because she accidentally spilled coffee on Beck. She certainly can be annoying sometimes, but then again, everyone can be. She's a good person at heart, and, okay, I really should have recognized that a long time ago._

_I want to tell Andre and Robbie that I really do consider them to be my friends, and I'm sorry I'm mean to them. At least, for most of the times. Sometimes… they kind of deserved it. But I'm not apologizing to Rex. That thing… I hate it._

_I want to tell Cat that she's my best friend and I love her like a sister. I've never showed it.. sometimes I'm pretty awful to Cat. Sure, she's annoying, but she is my best friend. She deserves to know, and be treated like it. And I want to say sorry._

_I want to tell Trina… never mind._

_I want to tell Beck that I love him more than anything. I never have, although I'm fairly certain he knows. I want to tell him thank you for always having faith in me, and being there for me, and putting up with me although I don't deserve it. I want to tell him that I want to marry him someday. _

Jade paused in her mental monologue, looking down at the body beside her own.

"And Jack", she whispered, barely audible even to herself. "Thank you. We just met, and I know I'm not the friendliest of people. But you ignored my demeanor and saw _me_… few people take the time to do that. You taught me about life, and love, and I feel better about the future. I'm glad we talked. I'm glad you're Beck's grandfather. Even though I only knew you for, like, an hour, I love you like my own grandpa. Thanks. Thank you so much."

At this point, Jade was wiping tears from her eyes, and furious with herself. Jade West didn't do emotional confessions. Except, apparently, for now. Sniffing loudly, she sighed again and settled back down to wait, taking up Jack's hand again. It was cold.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Twenty silent minutes later, a tiny beam of light came into the dark space. The hole was only about a centimeter wide, but it was evidence that the informal rescue team had finally reached the trapped pair.

"Jade?" Beck called.

"Hmmm?" she replied. Her voice was quiet and rather weak, uncharacteristic of her.

"We've almost broken in. You'll be out soon. I'd say maybe five more minutes."

"Okay. I'll just wait here." She answered, a tiny hint of a smile in her voice.

"Thank you, Catherine Obvious." He said back.

"It's Captain Obvious, isn't it?" his dad asked.

"Yes, but… it's a long story." Beck said.

The hole was now about a foot wide, but Beck couldn't see Jade yet. He figured she must be hidden in the other corner, where the light hadn't yet reached.

Uncle Ken came up and helped Beck's dad move a piece of plaster from the edge of the hole. Beck's mom and Aunt Rachel moved some of the bricks, and Grandma Rose pulled a few chunks of wood out. Suddenly, the opening was big enough for a person to fit through.

Beck poked his head through. "Jade?" he called softly. "You can come out now, sweetie. We made it."

Slowly, Jade edged her way to the gap, letting her eyes adjust to the light. Clutching her injured arm to her chest, she managed to clamber up and through the fissure, stumbling when she stood up. She landed right in Beck's arms, and he held her tightly.

She'd started to cry again, so he scooped her up and carried her out of the way of the rest of his family, who were still working on the pile. He sat down on the floor with her in his lap, and started to stroke her hair to comfort her.

"I love you." She whispered, quietly but definitively.

"I love you too, baby." He murmured, and kissed her forehead.

She shifted slightly in his arms, and he held her tighter to him, causing her to gasp in pain. "What's wrong?" he asked, new worry creasing his brow.

"Nothing, it's just something fell on me during the aftershock, and it hurts a little." She understated.

"Let me see" he said softly, and gently took her proffered arm. It was black and blue, covered in dried blood, and obviously broken. He repressed the urge to flinch, knowing it would make her feel worse. Instead, he said "Jade, we need to get you to a hospital."

She smiled wanly. "Don't I know it."

By now, Beck's family had recovered Grandpa Jack's body and had wrapped it in his favorite old afghan. Uncle Ken and Beck's dad carried it out to the car, while the females came over to Jade and Beck and started to fuss over Jade's condition. Jade just sighed and leaned her head on Beck's shoulder, his protective arms still wrapped around her.

"Come on," Beck said when he saw his dad signal that it was time to go. He helped her up, and they walked to the door behind the rest of the family.

Jade stopped in the doorway, remembering her promise to Jack and herself. "Beck." He looked at her. "Marry me?"

He paused, then grinned. "Jade, I'm never letting you go. Of course we're going to get married. When we're older."

"Obviously." She said, her tone sarcastic, but her smile was huge. He leaned down to kiss her, full and sweet.

Then she took his hand, and together they walked from the house.

**A/N: Happy ending! So, yeah, epilogue. Later. **

**Bedtime. **


	11. Epilogue

**A/N: Sucky explanation/life-update at the end for anyone who cares.**

**Disclaimer: I wonder if I could buy the rights to Victorious now that it's over..**

_One week later_

Jade let out an audible sigh, biting down on her lip. Beck, standing next to her, heard her sigh and gave her hand a squeeze. He offered a watery smile, tears silently making their way down his cheeks.

They were at Grandpa Jack's funeral. Both Beck's family and his aunt and uncle had extended their stay in Canada in order to help fix up the house and stay for the funeral. The funeral had to be delayed because the mortician had to fix up Jack's body and face to be presentable. Jade felt vaguely nauseated at the thought of this; her fascination with gore and death seemed to have greatly diminished in the past week.

She flinched as her arm gave a twinge, reminding her that she, too, had been hurt. Her right arm was now encompassed from wrist to elbow in a black cast that she had to wear for the next two months. Beyond that, the rest of her body was covered in cuts and bruises and was very, very sore. She was having a hard time doing much of anything; Beck had to help her a lot with trivial tasks.

Jade felt a nudge at her side, rousing her from her internal monologue. "Jade," Beck murmured, "you're up." He rubbed her good arm as if offering her good luck and kissed her cheek as she went past him.

Slowly, Jade made her way up to the pulpit of the small church where the funeral was being held. She reached the platform, adjusted the microphone, and caught Beck's eye before allowing her gaze to travel over the mass of people gathered to celebrate Jack's life.

"I know most of you are wondering who I am and why I'm up here," she began. "Well… my name is Jade and I'm the girlfriend of Jack's grandson, Beck. I met Jack for the first time a week and a half ago." She noticed some raised eyebrows and uncomfortable looks from her audience at this. _A reasonable reaction, _she thought; _I barely knew him, so why should I be speaking at his funeral?_

"To be honest, Jack and I didn't exactly hit it off at first. We rarely spoke and always clashed when we did. I can be kind of irritable." She smiled at Beck when she said this. He shook his head and smiled back. "We were like this for several days, and I thought we would never get along."

"Then the earthquake happened. I was with Beck during the actual quake, but afterwards we separated to find the rest of the family. I went to find Jack when the aftershock hit. Most of you know that the shock was worse than the actual earthquake," (the audience nodded) "and it brought down the part of the house where Jack and I were. We were trapped together there. He was injured –his legs were caught under part of the wall and he was bleeding a lot- and the family had to work quickly to get us out of there. During that time, he and I talked. It was awkward at first- I barely knew him- but soon I realized that he and I had the same demeanor and sense of humor, and I began to relax around him. We talked about his history and mine."

She bit her lip as she had before, and glanced at Beck, who has watching her intensely from the first row of pews. "I learned a lot from him when we were trapped in that small space. We talked about life, love, and friendships. He made me realize that I make my own future; that I shouldn't just wait for it to happen. He helped me see a friend in a new light. But most importantly... he taught me the value of life, of living for other people. Here he was, dying slowly, and were discussing _my_ inconsequential life problems. He seemed genuinely interested about what I had to say and it seemed like he truly wanted to help me. We barely knew each other, for God's sake; I was just his grandson's girlfriend, and to top it off, I'd been acting terrible towards him in the days before. I never would have thought he would care, but he did, and I'm forever grateful."

"I've been called difficult, mean, and many more things that I won't mention here." Jade started to choke up and cry. "Few people have accepted me for me. Jack... was one of the few. He could be standoffish, but he found the best in people and drew it out of them. He loved everyone, including me, I think... and I loved him, too. He changed me somehow- for the better, I think. He was a great teacher, and great father and grandfather, but most importantly, he was a great man. His legacy will live on in me, in his family, and in everyone who he came in contact with in his many years. I'll never forget what Jack taught me."

By now, everyone was crying. Jade could barely hold back sobs as she walked back to her place in the pew. When she got there, Beck reached out and wrapped in her in his arms, holding her tightly. She allowed herself to cry openly then.

"Your grandfather was an amazing guy," she said after a moment.

"He was." Beck replied, wiping the tears from her face with his thumb. "He only wanted the best for everyone."

"I know."

"He loved everyone, including you."

"I know."

He tipped her chin up. "I love you."

She smiled. "I love you, too."

**A/N: BOOM. Done. It's over. My conscience is free! Serious props to anyone who stuck to this story til now. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. **

**To anyone who wants to know, I totally lost inspiration for this story and basically all my writing. Senior year of high school went by, which was fun but stressful, and now I'm a freshman in college- SMCM for the win! I probably will not write much for a while, if ever again. I like writing well enough, but I've lost inspiration and confidence it in. It's harder to find my "flow" now.**

**Again, thanks to all my readers. I love you guys and I hope this didn't disappoint you. I'm truly sorry for the delay, but I also feeling like anything I would have written before now would have been terribly forced. I guess we'll never know.**


End file.
